Sunday, August 29, 2021

Lemon-Parmesan Polenta with Stir-Fried Veggies

An easy, delicious meal. You will need:

Olive oil

A red onion

Two small zucchini (you can use bell peppers or any other vegetable)

Herbal salt

A small mug full of dry Polenta

A water cooker filled with boiling water

A heaping tablespoon of veggie broth

A lemon or two

A few ounces of Parmesan (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)


Put about two tablespoons of olive oil in a teflon frying pan on moderate heat. Slice into smallish pieces the red onion and put it in the pan; add the sliced zucchini. Stir and add herbal salt.  Cover with a spatter guard.

In a pot put about a mugful of dry Polenta (more for three big eaters). Squeeze one or two onions and add the juice. Put a tablespoon of veggie broth in the mug and add a cup of boiling water; stir into the Polenta-lemon mix. Add four more mugs of water, stirring often. Turn heat down while you grate the Parmesan. When the Polenta's thickening, put a ladle-full onto your plate, add a scoop of the veggie-onion mix, a handful of grated Parmesan and a turn or two from the pepper grinder:



Tuesday, August 17, 2021

The Perfect Meal for an Upper West Side Boomer Expatriate in Munich

Why didn't somebody tell me about Pho before? Very near my hotel, the Mercure near the Olympiapark, there's a little place I went to because there were plenty of tables in front--more tables outside than inside, and obviously in COVID times I'd prefer eating outside. The restaurant had the uninspiring name ASIA, as far as I could tell, but the best Vietnamese food in the neighborhood. I tried a red curry at another place touting itself as "vegan" and it was fine, but twice as expensive and without the delicate subtleties of spice in same dish at the ASIA.

We landed at ASIA, on Leonradstraße, on our first day in Munich; I ordered the Pak Choy with tofu and fell in love with the place. Yum. You can't get this stuff back in Essen, home of the Chinese restaurants with canned veggies in brown sauce. I can buy ingredients at my local Asian store, but I can't work the magic. The food here is satisfying and quite inexpensive, especially for overpriced Munich. Here's the lovely Pho, swimming in star-anise, scallions, basil ginger, lime, and a perfect broth: